The citizens of today’s world are deeply interconnected. The incredible advances in communications—especially through the internet—have brought us all closer to one another. Platforms like Coursera have given people of myriad backgrounds access to content developed by universities the world over—places they may never have visited in person. Initiatives like these are fantastic: access to high-quality education is essential for the free development of individuals and societies.

These technological advances provide us with important benefits, but they also multiply our responsibilities. Being connected makes us interdependent: the consequences of our actions become broader in scope. We must therefore develop a solid understanding of the world we live in, the people we interact with, and the likely effects of our decisions.

Today, more than ever before, learning about current geopolitical issues and global governance is vital. We are global citizens. It doesn’t matter what field you work in or where you live: international issues affect us all. It is important that we understand how these issues impact us and, in the case of cross-border problems, that we play a role in problem-solving mechanisms. No matter where we live, work and interact, our actions can influence others’.

At the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics (ESADEgeo), the organization I lead, this is what we do: we provide people and organizations with the tools they need to organize and strategize in a globalized world. Starting in early November, I will be leading a course on Coursera called “Geopolítica y Gobernanza Global: Riesgos y Oportunidades” (“Geopolitics and Global Governance: Risks and Opportunities”). In this course, we will discuss key ideas that will help participants gain an understanding of global events and future prospects. We will look at the risks we will be facing in the future and the strategies we can adopt to address them as best we can. We will also discuss how to lead in order to reach the type of global consensus the world so clearly needs.